Bazentin-Le-Petit Communal Cemetery Extension (Somme)
and Bazentin-Le-Petit Communal Cemetery

Details

Bazentin is a commune in the Department of the Somme, to the North-East of Albert, containing the villages of Bazentin-le-Grand and Bazentin-le-Petit. The Communal Cemetery of the latter village is on the East side of it, and is joined on the North by the Extension.

Bazentin was in German hands until the 14th July, 1916, when the 3rd and 7th Divisions captured the two villages and the Communal Cemetery and held them against counter-attacks, and the 21st Division captured Bazentin-le-Petit Wood. (The 7th Division erected a commemorative oak cross at the North end of Bazentin-le-Petit.) The ground was lost in April, 1918, but recaptured on the following 25th August by the 38th (Welsh) Division.

In the middle of the Communal Cemetery are the graves of two soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in August, 1916. They are:-

Lt. L.S.H. Griffin 10th Bn. Gloucestershire Regt. Mentioned in Despatches. Died 18th Aug.,1916 aged 20. 1

R.S.M. W. Pearce, 23649, 10th Bn Loyal North Lancs Regt. Died 11th Aug., 1916. 2

The Communal Cemetery Extension was begun immediately after the capture of the village, and used until December, 1916, as a front- line cemetery. It was enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of 50 graves from the battlefields of Bazentin and Contalmaison. It now contains the graves of 179 soldiers from the United Kingdom, five from Canada and one from Australia.

Fifty three of the graves are those of unidentified men, and 58 (mainly of the 1st Northamptons), destroyed by shell fire, are now represented by special memorials. Six German graves (three of which composed Row C) have been removed.

One British soldier was reburied in this cemetery from Sailly-Laurette German Cemetery (near the West side of the road from Sailly-Laurette to Morlancourt), which contained 556 German burials.

Number of burials by Unit

Northamptonshire Regiment
47
   East Yorkshire Regiment
22
Northumberland Fusiliers
14
   Highland Light Infantry
11
Durham Light Infantry
7
   Royal Field Artillery
5
Black Watch
3
   Cameronians - Scottish Rifles
3
Machine Gun Corps
3
   Canadian burials
2
Gordon Highlanders
2
   King's Royal Rifle Corps
2
Royal Engineers
2
   Cameron Highlanders
1
Dorsetshire Regiment
1
   Green Howards - Yorkshire Regiment
1
London Regiment - 24th Bn. The Queen's
1
   Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
1
Manchester Regiment
1
   Royal Army Medical Corps
1
Royal Fusiliers - City of London Regiment
1
   Seaforth Highlanders
1
Identified burials
132
      
Unidentified UK Burials
49
      
Unidentified Canadian Burials
3
      
Unidentified Australian Burial
1
      
Total Unidentified
53
      
Total Burials
185
      

Men with awards buried in this Cemetery

Sgt. G. Hewett M.M., 115th Bt. 25th Brig. Royal Field Artillery. Died 1st Oct. 1916. D. 3.

2nd Lt. Henry Douglas Jackson M.C., 4th Bn. East Yorkshire Regiment, died 26th Oct. 1916 aged 22. B. 31.

Capt. A. E. Swell D.S.O., 1st Bn. Northamptonshire Regiment, died 17th Aug. 1916. E .3